JP2008276125A - Lubricant uniformizing blade, lubricant supply device using the blade, process cartridge and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To uniformize blade, and to reduce the wear generated with the passage of time of a lubricant. <P>SOLUTION: The lubricant uniformizing blade is configured, such that a ridge line 74a is disposed in contact with the surface of a photoreceptor so as to intersect the moving direction B of the surface of the photoreceptor 1, and thereby, lubricant supplied to the surface of the photoreceptor is made uniform, wherein an angle θ formed, on the inner side of the lubricant uniformalizing blade, by two faces 74b and 74c disposed opposite the surface of the photoreceptor and upstream and downstream, respectively with the ridge line between them in the moving direction of the surface of the photoreceptor, is an obtuse angle. Thus, compared to a conventional lubricant uniformalizing blade with an angle θ of 90°, this blade decreases sticking slip motion so as to attain reduction in wear amount generated with the lapse of time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a lubricant leveling blade for leveling a lubricant supplied to a surface to be supplied with a lubricant such as the surface of an image carrier, and a lubricant supply device, a process cartridge, a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, and the like using the same. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, generally, a cleaning device that cleans the surface of an image carrier in order to remove transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the image carrier after transfer and repeatedly use the surface of the image carrier for image formation. It has. As this cleaning device, a device using a cleaning blade made of an elastic member such as polyurethane rubber is generally used because of its simple structure and excellent toner removal performance. Also, an image forming apparatus provided with a lubricant supply device for supplying a lubricant such as a fatty acid metal salt to the surface of the image carrier in order to reduce the coefficient of friction between the cleaning blade and the surface of the image carrier. It has been known. In such an image forming apparatus, if the amount of the lubricant supplied to the surface of the image carrier is too small, the friction coefficient cannot be sufficiently reduced, and a problem due to a high friction coefficient (for example, a cleaning blade or The life of the image carrier is not sufficiently suppressed. On the other hand, if the amount of lubricant supplied to the surface of the image carrier is too large, the amount of lubricant that adheres to various members and devices existing around the image carrier increases, causing problems due to lubricant adhesion (for example, charging members and The occurrence of abnormal images due to the adhesion of the lubricant to the developer carrying member or the like) becomes remarkable. Therefore, in an image forming apparatus having a configuration for supplying a lubricant to the surface of the image carrier, it is important to control the amount of lubricant supplied to the surface of the image carrier to an appropriate amount.

  Some of these image forming apparatuses supply lubricant to the surface of the image carrier upstream of the contact position of the cleaning blade on the upstream side of the image carrier surface movement direction. In this configuration, the cleaning blade functions to stretch and level the lubricant supplied to the surface of the image carrier. Therefore, it is possible to level the lubricant supplied to the surface of the image carrier to some extent without providing a lubricant leveling member that levels the lubricant separately from the cleaning blade. However, in this configuration, since the lubricant enters the contact portion of the cleaning blade together with the transfer residual toner, there is a difference in the amount of the lubricant between the region where the transfer residual toner exists and the region where the transfer residual toner does not exist. Resulting in insufficient leveling of the lubricant. In this case, there are places where the amount of lubricant is too much or too little on the surface of the image carrier, and the above-described problems may occur locally. In the above configuration, the lubricant adheres to the transfer residual toner and is cleaned together with the toner. In this case, since it is difficult to accurately grasp the amount of lubricant to be cleaned, it becomes difficult to control the supply amount and consumption amount of the lubricant, and as a result, the above-described problems are likely to occur.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the lubricant supply means is provided on the downstream side in the moving direction of the image carrier surface from the contact position of the cleaning blade, and the lubricant is evenly distributed downstream thereof. An image forming apparatus provided with a shim member is disclosed. According to such an image forming apparatus, since the surface of the image carrier to which the lubricant is supplied is already cleaned, the lubricant supplied to the surface of the image carrier is sufficiently leveled by the lubricant leveling member. I can do it. In addition, since the situation where the lubricant adheres to the transfer residual toner and is cleaned together with the toner can be suppressed, it is easy to control the supply amount and consumption amount of the lubricant. The lubricant leveling members disclosed in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 are both blade-shaped, but the support methods for supporting the lubricant leveling member are different. That is, in the lubricant leveling blade of Patent Document 1, the lubricant equalizing blade is located downstream of the image carrier surface moving direction with respect to the surface portion of the image carrier where the support means for supporting the lubricant is in contact with the ridge line portion of the lubricant leveling blade. This is a counter system that supports the blade. On the other hand, the lubricant leveling blade of Patent Document 2 is lubricated on the upstream side of the image carrier surface moving direction with respect to the surface portion of the image carrier where the supporting means for supporting the lubricant is in contact with the ridge line portion of the lubricant leveling blade. This is a trailing method that supports the leveling blade.

JP 2000-330443 A JP 2001-305907 A

  In recent years, long-term maintenance-free image forming devices are required, and the function of the lubricant leveling blade has been improved from the beginning in order to suppress the adhesion of lubricant to various members and devices around the image carrier over time. It is desirable to keep it constant over time. However, when the lubricant leveling blade is brought into contact with the surface of the image carrier that moves on the surface, vibration called self-excited vibration is generated in the lubricant leveling blade. In the conventional lubricant leveling blade, when this self-excited vibration is generated, the lubricant leveling blade fully functions, and the lubricant leveling blade fully functions. A stick-slip motion that repeats a slip state that is not possible occurs. When the stick-slip motion occurs, the amount of wear at the contact portion of the lubricant leveling blade with respect to the surface of the image carrier increases as compared with the case where the stick-slip motion does not occur. When the amount of wear increases, the amount of lubricant that passes through the contact portion increases, and the amount of lubricant on the surface of the image carrier increases beyond an appropriate amount, and abnormal images are likely to occur early. As described above, the conventional lubricant leveling blade in which the stick-slip motion is generated has a problem that since the wear amount with time is large, the period during which the function can be maintained is short, and abnormal images are easily generated early.

  The same problem may occur even with a conventional lubricant leveling blade that abuts against a surface to be supplied with a lubricant other than the surface of the image carrier, not only when the lubricant is supplied to the surface of the image carrier. That is, even with a conventional lubricant leveling blade that comes into contact with a lubricant supply surface other than the surface of the image carrier, if there is a large amount of wear over time due to stick-slip motion, it exists around the lubricant supply surface. As a result, the amount of lubricant adhering to various members and devices increases, causing various problems.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a lubricant leveling blade capable of reducing the amount of wear of the lubricant leveling blade over time, and the same. It is an object to provide a lubricant supply device, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus to be used.

In order to achieve the above object, the first aspect of the present invention is to bring the ridge line portion into contact with the lubricant supply surface so that the ridge line portion intersects the surface movement direction of the lubricant supply surface. In the lubricant leveling blade for leveling the lubricant supplied to the lubricant supply surface, the lubricant supply is performed on the upstream side and the downstream side in the surface movement direction of the lubricant supply surface across the ridge line portion. The angle formed between the back surfaces of each of the two surfaces facing the surface is an obtuse angle.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the lubricant leveling blade of the first aspect, the angle is not less than 95 ° and not more than 140 °.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lubricant supply mechanism for supplying a lubricant to a surface to be supplied with a lubricant, a lubricant leveling member for leveling the lubricant supplied to the surface to be supplied with a lubricant, In the lubricant supply device having the above, the lubricant leveling blade according to claim 1 or 2 is used as the lubricant leveling member.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a process cartridge that includes at least an image carrier and a lubricant supply unit that supplies a lubricant to the surface of the image carrier, and is detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus. The lubricant supply device according to claim 3 is used as the agent supply means.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image carrier that carries a latent image on the surface and moves, a charging unit that uniformly charges the surface of the image carrier, and an image carrier that is charged by the charging unit. A latent image forming means for forming a latent image on the surface of the body, a developing means for converting the latent image formed on the surface of the image carrier into a toner image, a transfer means for transferring the toner image to a transfer target, An image forming apparatus comprising a lubricant supply means for supplying a lubricant to the surface of the image carrier, wherein the lubricant supply apparatus according to claim 3 is used as the lubricant supply means. is there.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fifth aspect, the supporting means for supporting the lubricant leveling blade is more than the surface portion of the image carrier on which the ridge line portion of the lubricant leveling blade abuts. The lubricant leveling blade is supported on the downstream side in the moving direction of the image carrier surface.
The invention according to claim 7 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the ridge line is upstream of the image carrier surface movement direction with respect to the surface portion of the image carrier to which the ridge line portion of the lubricant leveling blade contacts. A cleaning blade for cleaning the transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the image carrier by bringing the portion into contact with the surface of the image carrier so as to intersect the image carrier surface movement direction, The cleaning blade is characterized in that the angle formed between the back surfaces of the two surfaces facing the surface of the image carrier on the upstream side and the downstream side in the surface movement direction of the image carrier across the ridge line portion is an obtuse angle. To do.

  The lubricant leveling blade in the present invention includes a lubricant supply surface on the upstream side and the downstream side in the direction of surface movement of the lubricant supply surface across the ridge line portion of the lubricant leveling blade in contact with the lubricant supply surface. The angle formed between the back surfaces of the two opposing surfaces is an obtuse angle. Therefore, as will be described later, the stick-slip motion that can occur at the ridge line portion of the lubricant leveling blade is reduced, so that the amount of wear over time at the ridge line portion can be reduced.

  As described above, according to the present invention, there is an excellent effect that the wear amount of the lubricant leveling blade with time can be reduced.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an in-body discharge type full-color copying machine as an image forming apparatus will be described.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the internal configuration of the copying machine according to the present embodiment.
In the present copying machine, an image forming unit 200 is disposed substantially at the center, and a paper feeding unit 400 is disposed immediately below the image forming unit 200. If necessary, another sheet feeding device can be added to the lower part. In addition, an image reading unit 300 that reads a document is disposed above the image forming unit 200 with a discharge storage unit 80 interposed therebetween. A recording sheet P as a recording material on which an image is formed is discharged and stored in the discharge storage unit 80. Note that what is indicated by an arrow A in FIG.

  The image forming unit 200 is provided with four image forming units 12Y, 12M, 12C, and 12K for forming images of each color of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K). ing. Above the image forming units 12Y, 12M, 12C, and 12K, an intermediate transfer unit 4 having an intermediate transfer belt 41 that is an endless belt-like intermediate transfer member is disposed. An exposure device 10 as a latent image forming unit is installed below the image forming units 12Y, 12M, 12C, and 12K. Like numbers indicating these image forming units, the suffixes Y, C, M, and K attached to the numbers correspond to the colors of toner handled by the members indicated by the numbers. Hereinafter, in particular, when the toner colors are not distinguished, the subscripts are simply omitted.

  The image forming unit 12 is provided with a photoreceptor 1 that is a drum-shaped image carrier. Around the photosensitive member 1, a charging device 2 as a charging unit for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive member 1, and development for converting the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive member 1 by the exposure device 10 into a toner image. A developing device 3 as a means, and a photosensitive member cleaning device 6 as a cleaning means for removing and collecting the transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive member after the toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive member 1 is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 41. A lubricant application device 7 for supplying a lubricant to the surface of the photoreceptor is provided. Further, a primary transfer roller 13 for transferring a toner image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor 1 to the intermediate transfer belt 41 is disposed to face the photoreceptor 1 with the intermediate transfer belt 41 interposed therebetween.

  On the right side of the intermediate transfer unit 4 in the drawing, a secondary transfer for secondary transfer of the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 41 onto which the toner images on the plurality of photoreceptors 1 are superimposed and transferred onto the recording paper P is performed. A secondary transfer device 5 including a roller 51 is disposed. If toner adheres to the secondary transfer roller 51, it causes the backside of the recording paper P, and therefore, the secondary transfer device 5 removes and collects toner attached to the surface of the secondary transfer roller 51. A device 56 is arranged. Further, the secondary transfer device 5 is provided with a secondary transfer member lubricant application device 57 for supplying a lubricant to the secondary transfer roller 51. The intermediate transfer unit 4 is provided with an intermediate transfer body cleaning device 46 that removes and collects transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 41 after the secondary transfer. A fixing device 8 is provided as a fixing unit for fixing the toner on the recording paper P on which the toner image is transferred by the secondary transfer device 5. The recording sheet P that has passed through the fixing device 8 is discharged and stored in the discharge storage unit 80 via the discharge roller 9.

  In order to facilitate maintenance, the image forming unit 12 includes a photoconductor 1, a charging device 2, a developing device 3, a photoconductor cleaning device 6, a lubricant application device 7 and the like as a process cartridge in one unit, and the copying machine 100. It can be attached to and detached from the main body.

  An unused recording sheet P is accommodated in the sheet feeding unit 400, and the uppermost recording sheet P is sent out from the sheet feeding cassette 40 by the rotation of the sheet feeding roller and conveyed to the registration roller 11. . The registration roller 11 temporarily stops the conveyance of the recording paper P, and starts to rotate at a timing so that the positional relationship between the toner image on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 41 and the leading edge of the recording paper P becomes a predetermined position. Be controlled.

  In the image reading unit 300, a reading traveling body 301 on which a document illumination light source and a mirror are mounted reciprocates along the contact glass 302 in order to read and scan a document (not shown) placed on the contact glass 302. Moving. The reflected light from the document is received by the CCD 304 installed at the rear stage of the lens 303. The CCD 304 converts the received light into an image signal and outputs it to a control unit (not shown). The control unit performs various types of image processing on the image information based on the input image signal, and controls the driving of the light source (laser diode) of the exposure apparatus 10 based on the image information. The writing light from the laser diode reaches the surface of the photoconductor 1 through a known polygon mirror, lens, or the like, whereby an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image information is formed on the surface of the photoconductor 1.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a schematic configuration around the photosensitive member in the present embodiment. The developing device 3 is not shown. An arrow B in FIG. 2 indicates the rotation direction of the photoreceptor 1.
The charging device 2 mainly includes a charging roller 21 that is a charging member, and a pressure spring 22 as a charging biasing unit that pressurizes the charging roller 21 with a predetermined pressure. The charging roller 21 has a conductive elastic layer around a conductive shaft. The charging roller 21 is supplied with a voltage via a conductive shaft by a voltage application device (not shown), and the surface of the photosensitive member 1 is charged with a predetermined polarity by a predetermined voltage generated in the gap between the conductive elastic layer and the photosensitive member 1. Is granted. The charging device 2 is also provided with a charging cleaner roller 23 as a cleaning means for removing deposits attached to the charging roller 21.
The developing device 3 (not shown) is of a two-component development type in this embodiment, but may be of a one-component development type. In the developing device 3, the developer sufficiently stirred by the stirring screw is magnetically carried on a developing roller as a developer carrying member, and the developer carried on the developing roller is developed by a developing doctor as a developer regulating member. Laminate on top. Then, the thinned developer is conveyed to a developing area which is an area facing the photoreceptor 1 by rotation of the developing roller, and the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor 1 is converted into a toner image in the developing area. .

  The photoconductor cleaning device 6 includes a cleaning blade 61 as a cleaning member. The blade holder 62 that supports the cleaning blade 61 supports the cleaning blade 61 on the downstream side of the photosensitive member surface moving direction with respect to the photosensitive member surface portion with which the ridge line portion of the cleaning blade 61 abuts. That is, the cleaning blade 61 is supported by a counter method. The photoconductor cleaning device 6 also includes a recovery coil 63 for conveying the transfer residual toner scraped and recovered by the cleaning blade to a waste toner bottle (not shown).

Hereinafter, the configuration of the lubricant application device 7 which is a characteristic part of the present invention will be described.
In the present embodiment, the lubricant application device 7 is disposed on the downstream side of the photosensitive member surface movement direction of the photosensitive member cleaning device 6 and on the upstream side of the charging device 2 in the photosensitive member surface movement direction. The lubricant application device 7 presses a brush roller 71 as a lubricant supply member, a solid lubricant 72 made of zinc stearate provided in contact with the brush roller 71, and the solid lubricant 72 against the brush roller 71. And a pressure spring 73. The brush roller 71 is also in contact with the surface of the photoreceptor 1 and is driven to rotate in the counter direction with respect to the surface of the photoreceptor as indicated by an arrow in the figure. The brush roller 71 is a roller formed by winding a brush around a metal shaft. The brush portion scrapes off the lubricant from the solid lubricant 72 and applies the scraped powder lubricant to the surface of the photoreceptor. The lubricant used in the present embodiment is zinc stearate, but is not limited to this.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view when the lubricant leveling blade is cut along the photosensitive member surface moving direction.
The lubricant application device 7 includes a lubricant leveling blade 74 that comes into contact with the surface of the photoconductor 1 on the downstream side in the moving direction of the photoconductor surface with respect to the contact portion of the brush roller 71. The lubricant leveling blade 74 is made of polyurethane rubber, and its support system is a counter system. That is, the leveling blade holder 75 as a support means for supporting the lubricant leveling blade 74 is located on the downstream side of the photoconductor surface moving direction with respect to the photoconductor surface portion with which the ridge line portion 74a of the lubricant leveling blade 74 abuts. A lubricant leveling blade 74 is supported. If supported by such a counter method, the lubricant leveling blade 74 can be brought into contact with the surface of the photoreceptor 1 with a higher contact pressure than in the trailing method. Therefore, the lubricant that has become granular and has entered the contact portion of the lubricant leveling blade 74 can be firmly damped, and it can be prevented that more lubricant than the target amount slips through. Further, since the transfer residual toner that has passed through the cleaning blade 61 can be firmly damped, the occurrence of an abnormal image due to such toner can be suppressed.

  Further, in the lubricant leveling blade 74 of the present embodiment, the angle at which the ridge line portion 74 a in contact with the surface of the photoreceptor 1 is formed is an obtuse angle. In other words, the angle formed between the back surfaces of the two surfaces 74b and 74c facing the photoreceptor surface on the upstream side and the downstream side in the photoreceptor surface movement direction B across the ridge line portion 74a (hereinafter referred to as “ridge line portion angle”). ) Θ is an obtuse angle. The ridge line angle is preferably 95 ° or more and 140 ° or less. If the ridge line angle is less than 95 °, the effect of suppressing the stick-slip motion due to the obtuse angle as described later becomes low. On the contrary, if the ridge line portion angle is larger than 140 °, it is difficult to obtain a necessary contact pressure. In the present embodiment, this angle is 120 °.

Next, the effect confirmation test conducted by the present inventors will be described.
In this effect confirmation test, the effect that the wear amount with time of the ridge line portion can be reduced by making the ridge line angle of the lubricant leveling blade 74 an obtuse angle is confirmed.
The lubricant leveling blade 74 used in this effect confirmation test is as shown in FIG. 3. Specifically, the lubricant leveling blade 74 has a free end length L1 of 6 mm, and the thickness of the lubricant leveling blade 74 is as follows. The one having a thickness of 1.3 mm was used. As a comparative example, a lubricant leveling blade 74 ′ shown in FIG. 4 is used. The lubricant leveling blade 74 ′ is the same as the lubricant leveling blade 74 except that the ridge line angle is 90 °. Then, a running test was performed using these lubricant leveling blades 74 and 74 ′, and the rank of the abnormal image for each predetermined number of sheets was evaluated. The rank evaluation was “◯” when the occurrence of black streaks could not be visually observed, and “Δ” when the occurrence of black streaks could be visually observed when using a halftone image. The abnormal image to be evaluated (the occurrence of black streaks) is mainly due to the lubricant adhering to the charging roller 21. Table 1 below shows the results of this effect confirmation test.

  With the lubricant leveling blade 74 ′ of the comparative example in which the ridge portion angle is 90 °, an abnormal image begins to appear in the halftone image at the end of the running of 80,000 sheets, and the evaluation becomes “△”, and the subsequent evaluations remain as they are. “△”. On the other hand, with the lubricant leveling blade 74 of the present embodiment having a ridge line portion angle of 120 °, an abnormal image appeared in the halftone image for the first time at the end of running 120,000 sheets, and the evaluation was “Δ”. That is, the lubricant leveling blade 74 of the present embodiment in which the ridge line portion angle is 120 ° is used as compared with the case where the ridge line portion angle is 90 ° as in the conventional general lubricant leveling blade 74 ′. As a result, the life of the charging roller 21 has increased 1.5 times. Further, when the amount of wear (depth of wear) of the ridge line portion of the lubricant leveling blade 74 of this embodiment at the end of running 120,000 sheets was observed, about 1 of the lubricant leveling blade 74 ′ of the comparative example was observed. / 2. Therefore, when the ridge line portion angle is set to 120 °, the amount of wear can be reduced as compared with the case where the ridge line portion angle is 90 °. As a result, the charging roller 21 can be reduced in dirt, and the abnormal image is generated. It is estimated that we were able to delay. Further, uneven wear over time in the longitudinal direction of the lubricant leveling blade (photoreceptor axial direction) could be suppressed.

  And as a result of our study, if the ridge line angle is 95 ° or more, there is a slight difference in the effect, but the effect of the lubricant leveling blade 74 with the ridge line angle being 120 °, The amount of wear can be reduced compared to the case where the ridge line portion angle is 90 °. In addition, uneven wear over time in the longitudinal direction of the lubricant leveling blade (photoreceptor axial direction) can also be suppressed. However, if the ridge line angle exceeds 140 °, it will be difficult to obtain the required contact pressure of the lubricant leveling blade against the surface of the photoreceptor, and the lubricant leveling blade will not be able to perform its original function. The ridge line angle is preferably 140 ° or less.

  In addition, when the ridge line portion angle is 120 °, the wear amount can be reduced as compared with the case where the ridge line portion angle is 90 °. The reason is that the conventional lubricant leveling blade 74 having the ridge line portion angle of 90 ° is used. It is thought that the stick-slip motion that occurred in 'was reduced by making the ridge line angle an obtuse angle, and as a result, the wear amount with time decreased.

In this embodiment, the case where the lubricant leveling blade 74 is supported by the counter method has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 5, the leveling blade holder 175 that supports the lubricant leveling blade 174 is provided with the lubricant leveling blade. Even in the trailing method in which the lubricant leveling blade 174 is supported on the upstream side of the photosensitive member surface moving direction with respect to the photosensitive member surface portion with which the ridge line portion 174 abuts, the ridge line portion angle is set as in the counter method. The effect by making it an obtuse angle is acquired.
As shown in FIG. 6, if the ridge line angle of the cleaning blade 161 is made obtuse as in the case of the lubricant leveling blade 74, the amount of wear over time of the cleaning blade 161 is reduced for the same reason. be able to. In addition, the suitable range of a ridgeline part angle is also 95 to 140 degree. This is because if the ridge line angle exceeds 140 °, cleaning failure is likely to occur.
In this embodiment, the lubricant leveling blade 74 for leveling the lubricant applied to the surface of the photosensitive member has been described. However, the lubrication when the lubricant is supplied to the intermediate transfer belt 41, the secondary transfer roller 51, or the like. The same effect can be obtained with the agent leveling blade.

Next, a toner suitably used in the present embodiment will be described.
The toner of this embodiment preferably has an average circularity of 0.93 to 1.00. In the present embodiment, a value obtained from a = L ₀ / L is defined as circularity a. Here, L ₀ indicates the perimeter of a circle having the same projected area as the particle image, and L indicates the perimeter of the projected image of the particle. The circularity a is an index of the degree of unevenness of the toner particles, and indicates 1.00 when the toner is a perfect sphere, and the circularity becomes smaller as the surface shape becomes more complicated.
When the average circularity is in the range of 0.93 to 1.00, the surface of the toner particles is smooth, and the contact area between the toner particles and between the toner particles and the photoreceptor 1 is small, so that the transferability is excellent. On the other hand, toner with a high degree of circularity tends to get into the gap between the photosensitive member 1 and the cleaning blade 61 in blade type cleaning, slip through, and stain the charging roller 21. However, by using the lubricant leveling blade 74 of this embodiment, it is possible to suppress abnormal images due to contamination of the charging roller 21 by preventing blade abrasion.

  The toner suitably used in the copying machine of the present embodiment includes a toner material liquid in which at least a polyester prepolymer having a functional group containing a nitrogen atom, a polyester, a colorant, and a release agent are dispersed in an organic solvent. A toner obtained by crosslinking and / or elongation reaction in an aqueous solvent. Hereinafter, the constituent material and the manufacturing method of the toner will be described.

(polyester)
The polyester is obtained by a polycondensation reaction between a polyhydric alcohol compound and a polycarboxylic acid compound.
Examples of the polyhydric alcohol compound (PO) include dihydric alcohol (DIO) and trihydric or higher polyhydric alcohol (TO). (DIO) alone or a mixture of (DIO) and a small amount of (TO) preferable. Examples of the dihydric alcohol (DIO) include alkylene glycol (ethylene glycol, 1,2-propylene glycol, 1,3-propylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, etc.); alkylene ether glycol (diethylene glycol) , Triethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, polytetramethylene ether glycol, etc.); alicyclic diols (1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, hydrogenated bisphenol A, etc.); bisphenols (bisphenol A, bisphenol) F, bisphenol S, etc.); alkylene oxide (ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, butylene oxide, etc.) adduct of the above alicyclic diol; Alkylene oxide bisphenol (ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, butylene oxide, etc.), etc. adducts. Among them, preferred are alkylene glycols having 2 to 12 carbon atoms and alkylene oxide adducts of bisphenols, and particularly preferred are alkylene oxide adducts of bisphenols and alkylene glycols having 2 to 12 carbon atoms. It is a combined use. The trihydric or higher polyhydric alcohol (TO) includes 3 to 8 or higher polyhydric aliphatic alcohols (glycerin, trimethylolethane, trimethylolpropane, pentaerythritol, sorbitol, etc.); trihydric or higher phenols (Trisphenol PA, phenol novolak, cresol novolak, etc.); and alkylene oxide adducts of the above trivalent or higher polyphenols.

  Examples of the polyvalent carboxylic acid (PC) include divalent carboxylic acid (DIC) and trivalent or higher polyvalent carboxylic acid (TC). (DIC) alone and (DIC) with a small amount of (TC) Mixtures are preferred. Divalent carboxylic acids (DIC) include alkylene dicarboxylic acids (succinic acid, adipic acid, sebacic acid, etc.); alkenylene dicarboxylic acids (maleic acid, fumaric acid, etc.); aromatic dicarboxylic acids (phthalic acid, isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid) And naphthalenedicarboxylic acid). Of these, preferred are alkenylene dicarboxylic acids having 4 to 20 carbon atoms and aromatic dicarboxylic acids having 8 to 20 carbon atoms. Examples of the trivalent or higher polyvalent carboxylic acid (TC) include aromatic polycarboxylic acids having 9 to 20 carbon atoms (such as trimellitic acid and pyromellitic acid). In addition, as polyhydric carboxylic acid (PC), you may make it react with polyhydric alcohol (PO) using the above-mentioned acid anhydride or lower alkyl ester (Methyl ester, ethyl ester, isopropyl ester, etc.).

The ratio of the polyhydric alcohol (PO) to the polycarboxylic acid (PC) is usually 2/1 to 1/1, preferably as the equivalent ratio [OH] / [COOH] of the hydroxyl group [OH] and the carboxyl group [COOH]. Is 1.5 / 1 to 1/1, more preferably 1.3 / 1 to 1.02 / 1.
The polycondensation reaction between a polyhydric alcohol (PO) and a polycarboxylic acid (PC) is carried out in the presence of a known esterification catalyst such as tetrabutoxytitanate or dibutyltin oxide, and heated to 150 to 280 ° C. while reducing the pressure as necessary. The produced water is distilled off to obtain a polyester having a hydroxyl group. The hydroxyl value of the polyester is preferably 5 or more, and the acid value of the polyester is usually 1 to 30, preferably 5 to 20. By giving an acid value, it tends to be negatively charged, and furthermore, when fixing to a recording paper, the affinity between the recording paper and the toner is good and the low-temperature fixability is improved. However, when the acid value exceeds 30, there is a tendency to deteriorate with respect to the stability of charging, particularly environmental fluctuation.
The weight average molecular weight is 10,000 to 400,000, preferably 20,000 to 200,000. A weight average molecular weight of less than 10,000 is not preferable because offset resistance deteriorates. On the other hand, if it exceeds 400,000, the low-temperature fixability is deteriorated.

In addition to the unmodified polyester obtained by the above polycondensation reaction, the polyester preferably contains a urea-modified polyester. The urea-modified polyester is obtained by reacting a terminal carboxyl group or hydroxyl group of the polyester obtained by the above polycondensation reaction with a polyvalent isocyanate compound (PIC) to obtain a polyester prepolymer (A) having an isocyanate group. It is obtained by cross-linking and / or extending the molecular chain by the reaction of the amine with amines.
Examples of the polyvalent isocyanate compound (PIC) include aliphatic polyisocyanates (tetramethylene diisocyanate, hexamethylene diisocyanate, 2,6-diisocyanatomethylcaproate, etc.); alicyclic polyisocyanates (isophorone diisocyanate, cyclohexylmethane diisocyanate, etc.) Aromatic diisocyanates (tolylene diisocyanate, diphenylmethane diisocyanate, etc.); araliphatic diisocyanates (α, α, α ′, α′-tetramethylxylylene diisocyanate, etc.); isocyanates; Those blocked with caprolactam or the like; and combinations of two or more of these.
The ratio of the polyvalent isocyanate compound (PIC) is usually 5/1 to 1/1, preferably as an equivalent ratio [NCO] / [OH] of the isocyanate group [NCO] and the hydroxyl group [OH] of the polyester having a hydroxyl group. 4/1 to 1.2 / 1, more preferably 2.5 / 1 to 1.5 / 1. When [NCO] / [OH] exceeds 5, low-temperature fixability deteriorates. When the molar ratio of [NCO] is less than 1, when a urea-modified polyester is used, the urea content in the ester is lowered and hot offset resistance is deteriorated.
The content of the polyvalent isocyanate compound (PIC) component in the polyester prepolymer (A) having an isocyanate group is usually 0.5 to 40 wt%, preferably 1 to 30 wt%, more preferably 2 to 20 wt%. . If it is less than 0.5 wt%, the hot offset resistance deteriorates, and it is disadvantageous in terms of both heat-resistant storage stability and low-temperature fixability. On the other hand, if it exceeds 40 wt%, the low-temperature fixability deteriorates.
The number of isocyanate groups contained per molecule in the polyester prepolymer (A) having an isocyanate group is usually 1 or more, preferably 1.5 to 3 on average, more preferably 1.8 to 2 on average. Five. If it is less than 1 per molecule, the molecular weight of the urea-modified polyester will be low, and the hot offset resistance will deteriorate.

Next, as amines (B) to be reacted with the polyester prepolymer (A), a divalent amine compound (B1), a trivalent or higher polyvalent amine compound (B2), an amino alcohol (B3), an amino mercaptan (B4) ), Amino acid (B5), and amino acid block of B1 to B5 (B6).
Examples of the divalent amine compound (B1) include aromatic diamines (phenylenediamine, diethyltoluenediamine, 4,4′-diaminodiphenylmethane, etc.); alicyclic diamines (4,4′-diamino-3,3′-dimethyldicyclohexyl). Methane, diamine cyclohexane, isophorone diamine, etc.); and aliphatic diamines (ethylene diamine, tetramethylene diamine, hexamethylene diamine, etc.) and the like. Examples of the trivalent or higher polyvalent amine compound (B2) include diethylenetriamine and triethylenetetramine. Examples of amino alcohol (B3) include ethanolamine and hydroxyethylaniline. Examples of amino mercaptan (B4) include aminoethyl mercaptan and aminopropyl mercaptan. Examples of the amino acid (B5) include aminopropionic acid and aminocaproic acid. Examples of the compound (B6) obtained by blocking the amino group of B1 to B5 include ketimine compounds and oxazolidine compounds obtained from the amines of B1 to B5 and ketones (acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, etc.). Among these amines (B), preferred are B1 and a mixture of B1 and a small amount of B2.

The ratio of amines (B) is equivalent to the equivalent ratio [NCO] / [NHx] of isocyanate groups [NCO] in the polyester prepolymer (A) having isocyanate groups and amino groups [NHx] in amines (B). Is usually 1/2 to 2/1, preferably 1.5 / 1 to 1 / 1.5, more preferably 1.2 / 1 to 1 / 1.2. When [NCO] / [NHx] is more than 2 or less than 1/2, the molecular weight of the urea-modified polyester is lowered, and the hot offset resistance is deteriorated.
The urea-modified polyester may contain a urethane bond together with a urea bond. The molar ratio of the urea bond content to the urethane bond content is usually 100/0 to 10/90, preferably 80/20 to 20/80, and more preferably 60/40 to 30/70. When the molar ratio of the urea bond is less than 10%, the hot offset resistance is deteriorated.

  The urea-modified polyester is produced by a one-shot method or the like. Polyhydric alcohol (PO) and polyvalent carboxylic acid (PC) are heated to 150-280 ° C. in the presence of a known esterification catalyst such as tetrabutoxytitanate, dibutyltin oxide, etc., and water generated while reducing the pressure as necessary. Distill off to obtain a polyester having a hydroxyl group. Subsequently, at 40-140 degreeC, this is made to react with polyvalent isocyanate (PIC), and the polyester prepolymer (A) which has an isocyanate group is obtained. Further, this (A) is reacted with amines (B) at 0 to 140 ° C. to obtain a urea-modified polyester.

When reacting (PIC) and when reacting (A) and (B), a solvent may be used if necessary. Usable solvents include aromatic solvents (toluene, xylene, etc.); ketones (acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, etc.); esters (ethyl acetate, etc.); amides (dimethylformamide, dimethylacetamide, etc.) and ethers And those inert to isocyanates (PIC) such as tetrahydrofuran (such as tetrahydrofuran).
In addition, in the crosslinking and / or extension reaction between the polyester prepolymer (A) and the amines (B), a reaction terminator may be used as necessary to adjust the molecular weight of the resulting urea-modified polyester. Examples of the reaction terminator include monoamines (diethylamine, dibutylamine, butylamine, laurylamine, etc.), and those obtained by blocking them (ketimine compounds).
The weight average molecular weight of the urea-modified polyester is usually 10,000 or more, preferably 20,000 to 10,000,000, and more preferably 30,000 to 1,000,000. If it is less than 10,000, the hot offset resistance deteriorates. The number average molecular weight of the urea-modified polyester or the like is not particularly limited when the above-mentioned unmodified polyester is used, and may be a number average molecular weight that can be easily obtained to obtain the weight average molecular weight. When the urea-modified polyester is used alone, its number average molecular weight is usually 2000-15000, preferably 2000-10000, more preferably 2000-8000. When it exceeds 20000, the low-temperature fixability and the glossiness when used in a full-color apparatus are deteriorated.

By using the unmodified polyester and the urea-modified polyester in combination, the low-temperature fixability and the gloss when used in the copying machine 100 are improved. Therefore, it is preferable to use the urea-modified polyester alone. The unmodified polyester may include a polyester modified with a chemical bond other than a urea bond.
The unmodified polyester and the urea-modified polyester are preferably at least partially compatible with each other in terms of low-temperature fixability and hot offset resistance. Therefore, it is preferable that the unmodified polyester and the urea-modified polyester have a similar composition.

The weight ratio of unmodified polyester to urea-modified polyester is usually 20/80 to 95/5, preferably 70/30 to 95/5, more preferably 75/25 to 95/5, and particularly preferably 80 /. 20-93 / 7. When the weight ratio of the urea-modified polyester is less than 5%, the hot offset resistance is deteriorated, and it is disadvantageous in terms of both heat-resistant storage stability and low-temperature fixability.
The glass transition point (Tg) of the binder resin containing unmodified polyester and urea-modified polyester is usually 45 to 65 ° C, preferably 45 to 60 ° C. If it is less than 45 ° C., the heat resistance of the toner deteriorates, and if it exceeds 65 ° C., the low-temperature fixability becomes insufficient.
In addition, since the urea-modified polyester is likely to be present on the surface of the obtained toner base particles, the heat-resistant storage stability tends to be good even when the glass transition point is low as compared with known polyester-based toners.

(Coloring agent)
As the colorant, all known dyes and pigments can be used. For example, carbon black, nigrosine dye, iron black, naphthol yellow S, Hansa yellow (10G, 5G, G), cadmium yellow, yellow iron oxide, ocher , Yellow lead, titanium yellow, polyazo yellow, oil yellow, Hansa yellow (GR, A, RN, R), pigment yellow L, benzidine yellow (G, GR), permanent yellow (NCG), Vulcan fast yellow (5G, R), Tartrazine Lake, Quinoline Yellow Lake, Anthrazan Yellow BGL, Isoindolinone Yellow, Bengala, Red Dan, Lead Zhu, Cadmium Red, Cadmium Mercury Red, Antimon Zhu, Permanent Red 4R, Para Red, Phi Sayred, Parachlor Ortonito Aniline Red, Resol Fast Scarlet G, Brilliant Fast Scarlet, Brilliant Carmin Min BS, Permanent Red (F2R, F4R, FRL, FRLL, F4RH), Fast Scarlet VD, Belkan Fast Rubin B, Brilliant Scarlet G, Resol Rubin GX, Permanent Red F5R , Brilliant Carmine 6B, Pigment Scarlet 3B, Bordeaux 5B, Toluidine Maroon, Permanent Bordeaux F2K, Helio Bordeaux BL, Bordeaux 10B, Bon Maroon Light, Bon Maroon Medium, Eosin Lake, Rhodamine Lake B, Rhodamine Lake Y, Alizarin Lake, Thio Indigo Red B, Thioindigo Maroon, Oil Red, Quinacridone Red, Pyrazolone Red Polyazo Red, Chrome Vermillion, Benzidine Orange, Perinone Orange, Oil Orange, Cobalt Blue, Cerulean Blue, Alkaline Blue Lake, Peacock Blue Lake, Victoria Blue Lake, Metal Free Phthalocyanine Blue, Phthalocyanine Blue, Fast Sky Blue, Indanthrene Blue (RS, BC), indigo, ultramarine blue, bitumen, anthraquinone blue, fast violet B, methyl violet lake, cobalt purple, manganese purple, dioxane violet, anthraquinone violet, chrome green, zinc green, chromium oxide, pyridian, emerald green, pigment Green B, Naphthol Green B, Green Gold, Acid Green Lake, Malachite Green Lake, Lid Russian nin green, anthraquinone green, titanium oxide, zinc white, litbon and mixtures thereof can be used. The content of the colorant is usually 1 to 15% by weight, preferably 3 to 10% by weight, based on the toner.

  The colorant can also be used as a master batch combined with a resin. As a binder resin to be kneaded together with the production of the master batch or the master batch, a polymer of styrene such as polystyrene, poly-p-chlorostyrene, polyvinyl toluene or the like, or a copolymer of these and a vinyl compound, Polymethyl methacrylate, polybutyl methacrylate, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, epoxy resin, epoxy polyol resin, polyurethane, polyamide, polyvinyl butyral, polyacrylic acid resin, rosin, modified rosin, terpene resin, fat Aromatic or alicyclic hydrocarbon resins, aromatic petroleum resins, chlorinated paraffins, paraffin waxes and the like can be mentioned, and these can be used alone or in combination.

(Charge control agent)
Known charge control agents can be used, such as nigrosine dyes, triphenylmethane dyes, chromium-containing metal complex dyes, molybdate chelate pigments, rhodamine dyes, alkoxy amines, quaternary ammonium salts (fluorine-modified 4 Secondary ammonium salts or compounds, tungsten simple substances or compounds, fluorine activators, salicylic acid metal salts, and metal salts of salicylic acid derivatives. Specifically, Bontron 03 of a nigrosine dye, Bontron P-51 of a quaternary ammonium salt, Bontron S-34 of a metal-containing azo dye, E-82 of an oxynaphthoic acid metal complex, E-84 of a salicylic acid metal complex , Phenolic condensate E-89 (above, Orient Chemical Industries, Ltd.), quaternary ammonium salt molybdenum complex TP-302, TP-415 (above, Hodogaya Chemical Co., Ltd.), quaternary ammonium salt copy Charge PSY VP2038, copy blue PR of triphenylmethane derivative, copy charge of quaternary ammonium salt NEG VP2036, copy charge NX VP434 (manufactured by Hoechst), LRA-901, LR-147 which is a boron complex (Nippon Carlit) Manufactured), copper phthalocyanine, perylene, quinacridone, azo series Fee, a sulfonic acid group, a carboxyl group, and polymer compounds having a functional group such as quaternary ammonium salts. Of these, substances that control the negative polarity of the toner are particularly preferably used.

  The amount of charge control agent used is determined by the type of binder resin, the presence or absence of additives used as necessary, and the toner production method including the dispersion method, and is not uniquely limited. Preferably, it is used in the range of 0.1 to 10 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the binder resin. The range of 0.2 to 5 parts by weight is preferable. When the amount exceeds 10 parts by weight, the chargeability of the toner is too high, the effect of the charge control agent is reduced, the electrostatic attraction with the developing roller is increased, the developer fluidity is lowered, and the image density is lowered. Invite.

(Release agent)
As a release agent, a low melting point wax having a melting point of 50 to 120 ° C. works more effectively as a release agent in the dispersion with the binder resin between the fixing roller and the toner interface. The effect on high temperature offset is exhibited without applying a release agent such as oil. Examples of such a wax component include the following. Examples of waxes and waxes include plant waxes such as carnauba wax, cotton wax, wood wax and rice wax, animal waxes such as beeswax and lanolin, mineral waxes such as ozokerite and cercin, and paraffin, microcrystalline, And petroleum waxes such as petrolatum. In addition to these natural waxes, synthetic hydrocarbon waxes such as Fischer-Tropsch wax and polyethylene wax, and synthetic waxes such as esters, ketones, and ethers can be used. Furthermore, fatty acid amides such as 12-hydroxystearic acid amide, stearic acid amide, phthalic anhydride imide, chlorinated hydrocarbon, and low molecular weight crystalline polymer resin, poly-n-stearyl methacrylate, poly-n- A crystalline polymer having a long alkyl group in the side chain such as a homopolymer or copolymer of polyacrylate such as lauryl methacrylate (for example, a copolymer of n-stearyl acrylate-ethyl methacrylate, etc.) can also be used. .
The charge control agent and the release agent can be melt-kneaded together with the master batch and the binder resin, and of course, they may be added when dissolved and dispersed in the organic solvent.

(External additive)
Inorganic fine particles are preferably used as an external additive for assisting the fluidity, developability and chargeability of the toner particles. The primary particle diameter of the inorganic fine particles is preferably 5 × 10 −3 to 2 μm, and particularly preferably 5 × 10 −3 to 0.5 μm. Moreover, it is preferable that the specific surface area by BET method is 20-500 m <2> / g. The use ratio of the inorganic fine particles is preferably 0.01 to 5 wt% of the toner, and particularly preferably 0.01 to 2.0 wt%.

  Specific examples of the inorganic fine particles include, for example, silica, alumina, titanium oxide, barium titanate, magnesium titanate, calcium titanate, strontium titanate, zinc oxide, tin oxide, quartz sand, clay, mica, wollastonite, diatomaceous earth. Examples include soil, chromium oxide, cerium oxide, bengara, antimony trioxide, magnesium oxide, zirconium oxide, barium sulfate, barium carbonate, calcium carbonate, silicon carbide, and silicon nitride. Among these, as the fluidity imparting agent, it is preferable to use hydrophobic silica fine particles and hydrophobic titanium oxide fine particles in combination. In particular, when stirring and mixing are performed using particles having an average particle size of 5 × 10-2 μm or less, the electrostatic force and van der Waals force with the toner are remarkably improved. Even when stirring and mixing inside the developing device is performed, a fluidity-imparting agent is not detached from the toner, a good image quality that does not cause fireflies and the like is obtained, and a reduction in residual toner is further achieved. .

  Titanium oxide fine particles are excellent in environmental stability and image density stability, but have a tendency to deteriorate the charge rise characteristics. Therefore, if the amount of titanium oxide fine particles added is larger than the amount of silica fine particles added, this side effect is affected. It can be considered large. However, when the added amount of the hydrophobic silica fine particles and the hydrophobic titanium oxide fine particles is in the range of 0.3 to 1.5 wt%, the charge rising characteristics are not greatly impaired, and the desired charge rising characteristics can be obtained, that is, repeated copying. Stable image quality can be obtained even if

  Next, a toner manufacturing method will be described. Here, although a preferable manufacturing method is shown, it is not limited to this.

(Toner production method)
(1) A toner material solution is prepared by dispersing a colorant, unmodified polyester, a polyester prepolymer having an isocyanate group, and a release agent in an organic solvent.
The organic solvent is preferably volatile with a boiling point of less than 100 ° C. from the viewpoint of easy removal after toner base particle formation. Specifically, toluene, xylene, benzene, carbon tetrachloride, methylene chloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, trichloroethylene, chloroform, monochlorobenzene, dichloroethylidene, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, methyl ethyl ketone, Methyl isobutyl ketone and the like can be used alone or in combination of two or more. In particular, aromatic solvents such as toluene and xylene and halogenated hydrocarbons such as methylene chloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, chloroform, and carbon tetrachloride are preferable. The usage-amount of an organic solvent is 0-300 weight part normally with respect to 100 weight part of polyester prepolymers, Preferably it is 0-100 weight part, More preferably, it is 25-70 weight part.

(2) The toner material liquid is emulsified in an aqueous medium in the presence of a surfactant and resin fine particles.
The aqueous medium may be water alone or an organic solvent such as alcohol (methanol, isopropyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, etc.), dimethylformamide, tetrahydrofuran, cellosolves (methyl cellosolve, etc.), lower ketones (acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, etc.). It may be included.
The amount of the aqueous medium used relative to 100 parts by weight of the toner material liquid is usually 50 to 2000 parts by weight, preferably 100 to 1000 parts by weight. If the amount is less than 50 parts by weight, the dispersion state of the toner material liquid is poor, and toner particles having a predetermined particle diameter cannot be obtained. If it exceeds 2000 parts by weight, it is not economical.

Further, in order to improve the dispersion in the aqueous medium, a dispersant such as a surfactant and resin fine particles is appropriately added.
As surfactants, anionic surfactants such as alkylbenzene sulfonates, α-olefin sulfonates, phosphate esters, alkylamine salts, amino alcohol fatty acid derivatives, polyamine fatty acid derivatives, amine salt types such as imidazoline, Quaternary ammonium salt type cationic surfactants such as alkyltrimethylammonium salt, dialkyldimethylammonium salt, alkyldimethylbenzylammonium salt, pyridinium salt, alkylisoquinolinium salt, benzethonium chloride, fatty acid amide derivative, polyhydric alcohol Nonionic surfactants such as derivatives, for example, amphoteric surfactants such as alanine, dodecyldi (aminoethyl) glycine, di (octylaminoethyl) glycine and N-alkyl-N, N-dimethylammonium betaine And the like.

Further, by using a surfactant having a fluoroalkyl group, the effect can be obtained in a very small amount. Preferred anionic surfactants having a fluoroalkyl group include fluoroalkyl carboxylic acids having 2 to 10 carbon atoms and metal salts thereof, disodium perfluorooctanesulfonyl glutamate, 3- [ω-fluoroalkyl (C6-C11 ) Oxy] -1-alkyl (C3-C4) sodium sulfonate, 3- [ω-fluoroalkanoyl (C6-C8) -N-ethylamino] -1-propanesulfonic acid sodium, fluoroalkyl (C11-C20) carvone Acids and metal salts, perfluoroalkylcarboxylic acids (C7 to C13) and metal salts thereof, perfluoroalkyl (C4 to C12) sulfonic acids and metal salts thereof, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid diethanolamide, N-propyl-N- ( 2-Hydroxyethyl) Perful Olooctanesulfonamide, perfluoroalkyl (C6-C10) sulfonamidopropyltrimethylammonium salt, perfluoroalkyl (C6-C10) -N-ethylsulfonylglycine salt, monoperfluoroalkyl (C6-C16) ethyl phosphate, etc. Can be mentioned.
Product names include Surflon S-111, S-112, S-113 (Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.), Florard FC-93, FC-95, FC-98, FC-129 (Sumitomo 3M Co., Ltd.), Unidyne DS-101. DS-102 (manufactured by Daikin Industries, Ltd.), Megafac F-110, F-120, F-113, F-191, F-812, F-833 (manufactured by Dainippon Ink, Inc.), Xtop EF-102, 103, 104, 105, 112, 123A, 123B, 306A, 501, 201, 204 (manufactured by Tochem Products), and Fgentent F-100, F150 (manufactured by Neos).

  Moreover, as the cationic surfactant, aliphatic quaternary ammonium such as aliphatic primary, secondary or secondary amic acid, perfluoroalkyl (C6-C10) sulfonamidopropyltrimethylammonium salt which has a right fluoroalkyl group is used. Salts, benzalkonium salts, benzethonium chloride, pyridinium salts, imidazolinium salts, trade names include Surflon S-121 (Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.), Florard FC-135 (Sumitomo 3M Co., Ltd.), Unidyne DS-202 (Daikin Industries) Smoke), MegaFuck F-150, F-824 (Dainippon Ink Co., Ltd.), Xtop EF-132 (Tochem Products), Footage F-300 (Neos), and the like.

The resin fine particles are added to stabilize the toner base particles formed in the aqueous medium. For this reason, it is preferable to add so that the coverage existing on the surface of the toner base particles is in the range of 10 to 90%. For example, polymethyl methacrylate fine particles 1 μm and 3 μm, polystyrene fine particles 0.5 μm and 2 μm, poly (styrene-acrylonitrile) fine particles 1 μm, trade names are PB-200H (manufactured by Kao), SGP (manufactured by Soken), Techno Examples include polymer SB (manufactured by Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.), SGP-3G (manufactured by Sokensha), and micropearl (manufactured by Sekisui Fine Chemical Co., Ltd.).
In addition, inorganic compound dispersants such as tricalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, titanium oxide, colloidal silica, and hydroxyapatite can also be used.

  As a dispersant that can be used in combination with the above resin fine particles and inorganic compound dispersant, the dispersed droplets may be stabilized by a polymer protective colloid. For example, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, α-cyanoacrylic acid, α-cyanomethacrylic acid, itaconic acid, crotonic acid, fumaric acid, maleic acid or maleic anhydride and other (meth) acrylic monomers containing hydroxyl groups Such as acrylic acid-β-hydroxyethyl, methacrylic acid-β-hydroxyethyl, acrylic acid-β-hydroxypropyl, methacrylic acid-β-hydroxypropyl, acrylic acid-γ-hydroxypropyl, methacrylic acid-γ-hydroxy Propyl, acrylic acid-3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl, methacrylic acid-3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl, diethylene glycol monoacrylate, diethylene glycol monomethacrylate, glycerol monoacrylate, glycerol monomethacrylate Luric acid esters, N-methylol acrylamide, N-methylol methacrylamide, etc., vinyl alcohol or ethers with vinyl alcohol, such as vinyl methyl ether, vinyl ethyl ether, vinyl propyl ether, or compounds containing vinyl alcohol and a carboxyl group Esters such as vinyl acetate, vinyl propionate, vinyl butyrate, acrylamide, methacrylamide, diacetone acrylamide or their methylol compounds, acid chlorides such as acrylic acid chloride, methacrylic acid chloride, vinyl pyridine, vinyl pyrrolidone, vinyl Nitrogen compounds such as imidazole and ethyleneimine, or homopolymers or copolymers such as those having a heterocyclic ring thereof, polyoxyethylene, poly Xoxypropylene, polyoxyethylene alkylamine, polyoxypropylene alkylamine, polyoxyethylene alkylamide, polyoxypropylene alkylamide, polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether, polyoxyethylene lauryl phenyl ether, polyoxyethylene stearyl phenyl ester, polyoxy Polyoxyethylenes such as ethylene nonylphenyl ester, celluloses such as methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, and hydroxypropyl cellulose can be used.

  The dispersion method is not particularly limited, and known equipment such as a low-speed shear method, a high-speed shear method, a friction method, a high-pressure jet method, and an ultrasonic wave can be applied. Among these, a high-speed shearing type is preferable in order to make the particle size of the dispersion 2 to 20 μm. When a high-speed shearing disperser is used, the number of rotations is not particularly limited, but is usually 1000 to 30000 rpm, preferably 5000 to 20000 rpm. The dispersion time is not particularly limited, but in the case of a batch method, it is usually 0.1 to 5 minutes. The temperature during dispersion is usually 0 to 150 ° C. (under pressure), preferably 40 to 98 ° C.

(3) At the same time as the preparation of the emulsion, the amines (B) are added to cause a reaction with the polyester prepolymer (A) having an isocyanate group.
This reaction involves molecular chain crosslinking and / or elongation. The reaction time is selected depending on the reactivity between the isocyanate group structure of the polyester prepolymer (A) and the amines (B), but is usually 10 minutes to 40 hours, preferably 2 to 24 hours. The reaction temperature is generally 0 to 150 ° C, preferably 40 to 98 ° C. Moreover, a well-known catalyst can be used as needed. Specific examples include dibutyltin laurate and dioctyltin laurate.

(4) After completion of the reaction, the organic solvent is removed from the emulsified dispersion (reactant), washed and dried to obtain toner base particles.
In order to remove the organic solvent, the temperature of the entire system is gradually raised in a laminar stirring state, and after giving strong stirring in a certain temperature range, the solvent base is removed to produce spindle-shaped toner base particles. . Further, when an acid such as calcium phosphate salt or an alkali-soluble material is used as the dispersion stabilizer, the calcium phosphate salt is dissolved from the toner base particles by a method such as dissolving the calcium phosphate salt with an acid such as hydrochloric acid and washing with water. Remove. It can also be removed by operations such as enzymatic degradation.

(5) A charge control agent is injected into the toner base particles obtained above, and then inorganic fine particles such as silica fine particles and titanium oxide fine particles are externally added to obtain a toner.
The injection of the charge control agent and the external addition of the inorganic fine particles are performed by a known method using a mixer or the like.
Thereby, a toner having a small particle size and a sharp particle size distribution can be easily obtained. Furthermore, by giving strong agitation in the process of removing the organic solvent, the shape between the true spherical shape and the rugby ball shape can be controlled, and the surface morphology is also controlled between the smooth shape and the umeboshi shape. be able to.

As described above, in this embodiment, the surface of the photoreceptor is brought into contact with the surface of the photoreceptor such that the edge line 74a intersects the surface movement direction of the surface of the photoreceptor 1 that is the lubricant supply surface. The lubricant leveling blade 74 for leveling the lubricant supplied to the back surface of each of the two surfaces 74b and 74c facing the photoconductor surface on the upstream side and the downstream side in the direction of movement of the photoconductor surface across the ridge 74a. The angle (ridge line portion angle) θ between them is an obtuse angle. Therefore, as described above, the amount of blade wear over time can be reduced, and the occurrence of abnormal images such as black stripes can be delayed by the lubricant adhering to the charging roller 21 and the like. That is, the life of the charging roller 21 and the like can be extended.
In particular, if the ridge line portion angle θ is 95 ° or more and 140 ° or less, as described above, the ridge line portion angle θ is made obtuse without impairing the original function of the lubricant leveling blade 74. A sufficient effect can be obtained.
Further, in this embodiment, the leveling blade holder 75 as a support means for supporting the lubricant leveling blade 74 moves the photoconductor surface more than the surface of the photoconductor where the ridge line portion 74a of the lubricant leveling blade 74 abuts. A counter system that supports the lubricant leveling blade 74 on the downstream side in the direction is adopted. As a result, the lubricant leveling blade 74 can be brought into contact with the surface of the photosensitive member 1 with a higher contact pressure than in the trailing method, so that the lubricant leveling blade 74 comes into a granular shape. Lubricating the lubricant that has entered the location can be prevented, and it is possible to prevent the lubricant exceeding the target amount from slipping through. In addition, since the transfer residual toner that has passed through the cleaning blade 61 can be firmly damped, the occurrence of abnormal images due to such toner can also be suppressed.
In this embodiment, the cleaning blade that cleans the transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive member 1 by lubricating the ridge line portion with the surface of the photosensitive member 1 so as to intersect the moving direction of the photosensitive member surface is lubricated. It is provided upstream of the photosensitive member surface moving direction with respect to the photosensitive member surface portion with which the ridge line portion 74a of the agent leveling blade 74 abuts. As shown in FIG. 6, this cleaning blade can also reduce the amount of blade wear over time and maintain the cleaning performance over time if the ridge line angle is made obtuse as shown in FIG. .

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an internal configuration of a copier according to an embodiment. 2 is an enlarged view showing a schematic configuration around a photoconductor in the copier. FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a lubricant leveling blade provided in the lubricant application device of the copying machine when cut along a photosensitive body surface moving direction. It is sectional drawing of the lubricant leveling blade used as a comparative example in the effect confirmation test. It is explanatory drawing of the modification which supported the lubricant equalizing blade by the trailing system. It is explanatory drawing of the modification which made the ridgeline part angle of the cleaning blade obtuse.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photoconductor 2 Charging device 3 Developing device 4 Intermediate transfer unit 5 Secondary transfer device 6 Photoconductor cleaning device 7 Lubricant coating device 8 Fixing device 10 Exposure device 11 Registration roller 12Y, 12M, 12C, 12K Image forming unit 21 Charging roller 41 Intermediate Transfer Belt 51 Secondary Transfer Roller 61, 161 Cleaning Blade 71 Brush Roller 72 Solid Lubricant 73 Pressurizing Spring 74, 74 ′, 174 Lubricant Leveling Blade 74a Edge Line 75, 175 Leveling Blade Holder 100 Copier 200 Image forming unit 300 Image reading unit 400 Paper feeding unit

Claims (7)

By bringing the ridge line portion into contact with the lubricant supply surface so that the ridge line portion intersects the surface movement direction of the lubricant supply surface, the lubricant supplied to the lubricant supply surface is leveled. In lubricant leveling blades,
The angle formed between the back surfaces of the two surfaces facing the lubricant supply surface on the upstream side and the downstream side in the surface movement direction of the lubricant supply surface across the ridge line portion is an obtuse angle, Lubricant leveling blade. The lubricant leveling blade of claim 1,
The lubricant leveling blade, wherein the angle is 95 ° or more and 140 ° or less. A lubricant supply mechanism for supplying a lubricant to a lubricant supply surface that moves on the surface;
In a lubricant supply device having a lubricant leveling member for leveling the lubricant supplied to the lubricant supply surface,
A lubricant supply apparatus using the lubricant leveling blade according to claim 1 or 2 as the lubricant leveling member. In a process cartridge that includes at least an image carrier and a lubricant supply unit that supplies a lubricant to the surface of the image carrier, and is detachable from the image forming apparatus main body.
A process cartridge using the lubricant supply device according to claim 3 as the lubricant supply means. An image carrier that carries the latent image on the surface and moves on the surface, a charging unit that uniformly charges the surface of the image carrier, and a latent image is formed on the surface of the image carrier charged by the charging unit. A latent image forming unit; a developing unit that converts the latent image formed on the surface of the image carrier into a toner image; a transfer unit that transfers the toner image to a transfer target; and a lubricant on the surface of the image carrier. In an image forming apparatus comprising a lubricant supply means for supplying
An image forming apparatus using the lubricant supply device according to claim 3 as the lubricant supply means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5.
The support means for supporting the lubricant leveling blade supports the lubricant leveling blade on the downstream side of the image carrier surface moving direction with respect to the surface portion of the image carrier surface where the ridge line portion of the lubricant leveling blade contacts. An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 or 6,
The ridge line portion intersects the image carrier surface movement direction on the upstream side of the image carrier surface movement direction with respect to the image carrier surface surface portion where the ridge line portion of the lubricant leveling blade abuts. A cleaning blade for cleaning the transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the image carrier by being brought into contact with the surface;
The cleaning blade has an obtuse angle formed between the back surfaces of two surfaces facing the image carrier surface on the upstream side and the downstream side in the surface movement direction of the image carrier across the ridge line portion. An image forming apparatus.

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